"William Hogarth (1697-1764) is one of the most versatile, innovative and celebrated of all British artists. He lived at a time when Britain was emerging as an increasngly urbanized, commercialized and aggressively imperial power. Like many other artists, he exploited and benefited from these changes in British society. Among his contemporaries, it was Hogarth who commented most brilliantly on society, both positively and negatively. Whether in ink or paint, his work celebrates the benefits of commerce, politeness and patriotism while simultaneously focusing on the corruption, hypocrisy and prejudice that unavoidably appeared in their wake." "In this account Mark Hallett explores and explains the duality within Hogarth's work, situating both his exquisite portraits and history paintings and his searing satiric prints within the context of his times. In doing so he gives us a greater sense of the contradictions and complexities within eighteenth-century British society itself."--BOOK JACKET.